[Review]Daniel C. Dennett_The Intentional Stance (1)

 Setting Off on the Right Foot

“Talking about the mind, for many people, is rather like talking about sex: slightly embarrassing, undignified, maybe even disreputable. "Of course it exists," some might say, "but do we have to talk about it?" Yes, we do. Many people would rather talk about the brain (which, after all, is the mind) and would like to think that all the wonderful things we need to say about people could be said without lapsing into vulgar, undisciplined mentalistic talk, but it is now quite clear that many things need saying that cannot be said in the restricted languages of neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, or behavioristic psychology. It is not just the arts and humanities that need to talk about the mind; the various puritanical attempts to complete the biological and social sciences without ever talking about it have by now amply revealed their futility. In fact there is something approaching a new consensus among cognitive scientists and the more liberated neuroscientists, to the effect that there can be-must be, somehow-a responsible, materialistic science not only of the brain, but also of the mind. There is no consensus yet, however, about just how this responsible science of the mind will be conducted.”(D. C. Dennett, 1987, 1)

Daniel Dennett - Wikipedia - https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Dennett


This book by Daniel C. Dennett contains his theories about the human mind, consciousness, and artificial intelligence. The discussion focuses on the concept of “intentional attitude.” It is said that when we humans understand and predict the behavior of other people, animals, or even artificial systems such as computers, we treat the attitude assuming that they have beliefs, desires, intentions, etc.(3, 52) In other words, “intentional attitude” does not end with simply predicting the behavior of others. This even includes discussions about human consciousness and free will.


Somewhere between Edmund Husserl and Daniel C. Dennett

Dennett's “intentionality” was influenced by that of Brentano. E. Husserl, the founder of phenomenology, was also influenced by Brentano's intentionality of consciousness. However, Husserl and Dennett's approaches are quite different.


„Das wird nun die nächste Frage sein müssen: Was kann man solchen puren Phänomenen anfangen? Zunächst ist das selbstverständlich, dass bloßes Schauen in phänomenologischer Einstellung noch keine Wissenschaft macht, dass also über das Geschaute Aussagen gemacht werden müssen. Diese Aussagen müssen genau nach dem Selbstgegebenen orientiert sein, sie müssen in getreuer Weise „ zum bloßen Ausdruck “ bringen, was da geschaut ist. Dass so etwas möglich ist, wird niemand bezweifeln, aber wohl, ob da etwas wissenschaftlich Wertvolles herauskommen kann.“ (HUSM. 7. 52-3)

From the above quote, we can see Husserl’s “intentionality.” He is discussing how to deal with “pure phenomena,” which he says are such that simply observing them scientifically cannot make accurate or reliable statements about the observed phenomenon. According to him, “pure phenomena” must be experienced directly and expressed honestly and simply. In other words, Husserl's understanding was about how we humans experience and construct the world, and through this, he sought to reveal the basis for perception and knowledge. 

In contrast, Dennett begins at the intersection of cognitive science and philosophy. To explain consciousness and mind, we start from a third-person perspective, an observer's perspective. Dennett's intentional attitude is a perspective taken to understand and predict the behavior of other people or systems as if they had the same mental states as them. This perspective assumes that entities act logically and purposefully and are guided by their beliefs, desires, and intentions.(1987. 79) Despite these differences, Husserl's and Dennett's discussions intersect on what human consciousness and human experience resulting from it are like. They say that consciousness cannot be understood only as a simple physical process or objective phenomenon, and that the role of consciousness is central in talking about perception, experience, and the mutual relationship with the world.

This series continues to discuss phenomenology and where discussions can be held, focusing on this book.


[Reference]

  • Danial C. Dennett, The Intentional Stance, The MIT press, 1987.

  • Edmund Husserl, Einführung in die Phänomenologie der Erkenntnis(HUSM 7), Vorlesung 1909, Springer, 2005.

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